


A Curse of Sacrifices

by threedices



Series: KHR rarepair Valentine's day mini-event [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Arcobaleno Curse (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Child Sawada Tsunayoshi, Families of Choice, Family Secrets, Gen, Loneliness, Mother-Son Relationship, Not Really Character Death, Possibly Unrequited Love, Pre-Relationship, Sawada Nana Has Sky Flames, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threedices/pseuds/threedices
Summary: Fon finds a crying child, gets invited to dinner, might have a crush and definitely has a sudden and terrifying responsibility for young Tsuna.The upside is that his curse got lifted.If only he could be happy about it.





	A Curse of Sacrifices

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [KHR_Rare_Pair_Week_Vday_Mini_Event_2019](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/KHR_Rare_Pair_Week_Vday_Mini_Event_2019) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Feb 14: Random Encounter | Torschlusspanik**
> 
> **This is the fear that time is running out. Literally "gate-closing-panic"

Fon had only intended to pay a visit to Kyouya, but when he found the crying child, he couldn’t stop himself.  
The boy had fluffy, brown hair and wide tear-filled eyes.  
Fon tried to look soft and harmless.  
“What is the matter, little one?”

The boy blinked at him, before squinting his eyes sullen and a bit suspicious.

“Nothing,” the boy mumbled, a hitch in his voice.

Fon hummed.   
It reminded him uncomfortably of Kyouya when he wanted to be stubborn and solve all his problems (his fights) by himself, all alone.  
In that case, it was best to thread carefully.  
“If you don’t mind, I’ll sit down, catch my breath for a moment.”

Fon settled beside the boy.  
Sometimes, a bit of company helped and to be honest, Fon had the biggest soft spot for children.  
He would never have the chance to have his own now, after the curse.

He waited until the boy’s sniffles quieted down.  
It felt like an accomplishment when the boy leaned a bit closer.  
Like gaining the trust of a shy animal.

“My name is Fon. Would you like me to bring you home?”

The boy squinted at Fon with narrowed eyes, something wary and tired in his gaze.  
Finally, he nodded. “All right.”

They stood and the boy led the way.   
“I’m Tsuna,” he said, not looking at Fon.

Fon smiled at him, even if Tsuna couldn’t see it.   
“Nice to meet you, Tsuna:”

They stopped in front of a nice decently sized house, not any different than the ones around it.

Tsuna dithered at the gate.

Fon waited patiently for the boy to walk in, with no expectations but a quick goodbye and never seeing the boy again.

No reason to force his presence where it wasn’t wanted.  
He bowed.  
“It was nice to meet you, Tsuna. Goodbye.”  
Tsuna said nothing.  
Fon smiled one last time and made to leave.  
He was already a few steps away, when Tsuna called him back.

“Wait.”

The boy bit his lips, looking torn.  
“Do you, maybe want to come in?”

Fon felt himself soften. “Of course. I would be pleased.”

Tsuna’s small smile was fragile but precious.

The house was cosy and lived in.  
Warm in that special way only a true home was.

Fon felt a bit homesick all of a sudden, even if he couldn’t say for what exactly.

The small of food permeated the air and a woman was humming gently further in the house.

“Mama, I’m home.”

The humming stopped, there was a light clank and then Tsuna’s mother came into view.

She looked as warm and welcoming as the house, with friendly eyes and an open smile..

There was something about her that reminded Fon undeniably of Tsuna.

“Oh, have you made a friend, Tsu-kun?” She sounded both surprised and delighted. 

Fon bowed when she turned to him. “Thank you for allowing me into your home.”

It was a greater danger than they could know.  
Normally, Fon kept well away from civilians.  
Even his extended family had not seen him for a while., 

He preferred to watch them from afar, instead of bringing his enemies down to their doorstep.

Tsuna’s mother tilted her head, her smile growing fond. “My name is Nana, but you can call me Mama, if you want.”

Fon kept his smile on his face through long practice. The last time he had called someone that was a long time ago.  
It shouldn’t hurt anymore how much time had passed, how much the curse had cost him.   
”Thank you, Nana-san”

She still smiled, but it was a bit smaller now. “Do you want to stay for dinner? Tsu-kun brings so rarely someone home with him.”  
She turned back to the kitchen, sounding cheerful again.

Fon wanted to, despite himself. Maybe he was just tired.

It had been years.

“I would like to.”

Nana’s voice drifted from the kitchen. “Go and wash your hands before Tsu-kun can show you.”

Of course, Tsuna. Fon had almost forgotten about him, quiet as he was.

Tsuna tucked him along, holding on to Fon’s hand.  
“The downstairs bathroom is here.”

Fon felt patently strange as if he had gotten into something he would not get out of.  
The worst was that he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

This was the warmest he had felt in years.

(The pacifier was a drain on his body and he had always felt a bit chilly since he wore it.)

Lunch was nice and filled with Nana’s chatter, Tsuna’s quiet answers and Fon trying his best not to let anything damning slip that could get them killed one day.

It limited the topics he could wholeheartedly partake in, but it was still one of the friendliest interactions he had had in a long time.

His family took offence that he didn’t involve them,even if he had repeatedly stressed that he didn’t need them to fight his battles.

This battle was long lost anyway.

In truth, he wanted to keep them out of his current life, for good.  
Either he would watch them all age and die, or they would be powerless to save him from the curse.

His family did not handle it well when pushed into a corner and it was best not to tempt fate.

After dinner was over and Nana began to clear the table, she looked up   
Her eyes and smile were just as kind as before, but Fon felt pinned down. 

“Why don’t you boys go and play? You should have fun, Tsu-kun.”

Tsuna smiled at Fon and waited for an answer, with all the hope shining in his eyes and Fon gave in again.

“All right.”

Only later, once Nana had urged him to stay for the night and settled him on a futon in Tsuna’s room, did Fon notice how strange her words had been.

There was a kind of sad desperation in her words, as if Tsuna’s days were numbered, in some way.

As if this was his last chance to make a friend and have fun.

The though made Fon’s heart stutter and his stomach fill with lead.

Just yesterday he had no idea Tsuna even existed, but Fon knew, if something happened to Tsuna now, Fon wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

The irresistible urge to stay was burning through him, but that was actually the worst thing to do to Tsuna and his mother.  
He stayed away from his own family for many reasons.  
The curse was only part of it.

With a heavy heart filled with regret, he left Tsuna’s room and made to sneak out of the house.

Nan was already waiting for him, at the door.

“I had an idea you might do that.” Her smile was sad, her hands wrung and together. Her knuckled were white.

“I am truly sorry.” He didn’t give her any reasons. It wouldn’t be fair to endanger them even more.

She took a shaky breath. “Please, don’t go. Tsuna... He will break over it.”

Fon had stopped a few steps before the stairs ended and thus was able to look directly into her eyes. 

They were vast and wide with desperation and unshed tears.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

She laughed, a soft sound, clear, like something shattering.

Fon tried to be unaffected, but all his years as an assassin could not have prepared him for this moment.

“Please.” She reached out a hand, but said nothing more than this word.

It was enough.

Over the strange shivery feeling in his body and the ringing of regret and failure in his head, Fon thought that Kyouya was at least getting the spars out of it that he wanted.

Unfortunately, it would be over the dead body of this kind woman and her son.

“I--” Fon wanted to explain, but the words stuck in his throat.

“It’s a all right, really,” Nana hastily assured him.”I will speak to father. he can find someone else.”

Fon had no idea what she meant, but she looked sad, desperate and a little afraid.

“There are others, right? He, he can release you or you can share the burden or;” she swallowed hard, her voice going soft and thin,”or I can take over.”

“What are you talking about?”

Nana’s smile was sad, but knowing. “The curse, Fon-san.”

He inhaled sharply, looking her over again. There was nothing in her that showed betrayal, though, only the desperation of a mother to give her child anything he might need.

A friend. 

Then it hit him.

Fon closed his eyes, suddenly dizzy. “You know someone who can life the curse?” 

It wasn’t really a question at this point.

“Yes. He will. He is fond of Tsuna and ... if I offer to do it...”

Fon opened his eyes again, to look at this woman who was offering him freedom and her own damnation just because he had shown her son a bit of kindness.

“Why me?” It needed to be asked and Fon wanted to hear her answer.

It was dark and her face half in shadow, but her smile was pained and broken. “You were the only one who ever tried.”

Fon nodded, feeling numb.  
No elation, no relief, only a slow, creeping nausea over his bad life choices.  
He felt like he had done her a great disservice and the only thing he could offer... 

“I will protect him with all I have.”

Nana smiled, life finally shining again in her eyes.  
“I know.”

She reached for Fon’s hands and what else could he do but let her?

Nana squeezed his hands.   
“Just be a friend to him. He needs that more than protection.”

She looked upstairs, to where Tsuna slept.”I will say goodbye tomorrow.”

Her eyes found Fon’s in the half dark of the hallway. “Thank you. I cannot thank you enough.”   
Any fear she had felt before seemed buried under her relief.

Fon smiled on reflex, but it was shaky.   
“Don’t thank me when you are...”  
He couldn’t even finish the sentence, much less the thought.

“Fon-san,” Nana said gently, “I would do anything for my son.”   
She came closer, reaching out for him.   
“May I?”

Fon wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to this time, but he nodded. 

She picked him up and carried him back up the stairs, stopping in front of Tsuna’s room.  
Fon began to feel warmer by now, feeling slowly returning to him.  
The quiet terror fled out of his bones.

When Nana opened the door, they could both see Tsuna, illuminated by moonlight and still sound asleep.

“Wouldn’t you do all in your power to keep him from harm if you could?” Nana whispered into Fon’s ear and he found he had to agree.

It wasn’t even a question anymore.

“Anything.”

Nana set him down on the futon. She went to kiss Tsuna on the forehead and, after a short moment of deliberation, leaned down to kiss Fon’s forehead, too.

Fon felt warm, embarrassed, and fervently hoped she could not see him blush.

It was disquieting, to be kissed again, even in such an innocent fashion.

People who did not know what he was thought he was a child and those who knew better also knew better than to come so close.  
With the other Arcobaleno he did shared only the curse and an understanding of sorts, nothing like ... this.

Fon took a deep breath. “Good night, Nana-san.”

He saw Nana’s silhouetted between shadow and light. Maybe it was only his imagination, but he thought he saw her smile.

The next morning, after a surprisingly restful night, Nana announced that they would visit her father.

Tsuna looked up from his breakfast, but other than a faint frown said nothing.

Nana kept Tsuna’s hand in hers the whole way and asked Fon with the same quiet voice,”May I?” so he let her carry him.

They stopped at an antique shop a bit off the road that made the hairs on Fon’s neck rise.

Mist Flames, all around them the closer they came.

A tinkling bell heralded their arrival, but for a few heartbeats, n one came to greet them.

“Father?” Nan’s voice was quiet but strong. “I have a deal to make.”

Tsuna looked up at her sharply, even though the words couldn’t possible mean something to him.  
“”Mama?”

Nana knelt beside him. “Fon-san has promised to be your friend and protect you and always be there for you, Tsu-kun. I trust him.”

She kissed Tsuna’s forehead again and stood. 

There was a smile on her face, but it was probably like Fon’s a mere reflex. “Please, take care of Tsuna and stay with him.”

Fon nodded. He could not possible do anything else but agree to anything she wanted, by now.   
“I will.”

“Mama?” Tsuna was frowning, his eyes teary and tone upset. “Don’t go.”

“Mama loves you, Tsu-kun, never forget that.” Nana hugged him tight and walked into the back with sharp, quick steps, not looking back.  
Fon thought he heard her sob once, but he couldn’t be sure.

When he looked away from where she had vanished to, Tsuna was crying quietly, his tears painful and ugly to watch.

Tsuna made no move to run after her, which Fon found strange, but now was not the time to ask an upset kid questions.

Fon made a move to reach over and comfort Tsuna, but a swift bout of vertigo made him lose his balance.

He heard Tsuna’s voice like through rushing water and his body felt equal parts ice cold, numb and burning.

Like when he had been close to Nana.

When he felt less like he was ripped apart, Tsuna was leaning over him, looking concerned.

“Are you OK, Fon-san?”

Fon tried to sit up and reassure him at the same time, but his arms felt weak and his head began to swim almost immediately.

“I’m fine,” he forced himself to croak out. 

He was here for Tsuna and worrying was the last thing he ever wanted to do.

It was a fight to get even as far as pushing his body so far that Fon could lean on his elbows, but eventually he managed without his headache feeling like a knife through his skull.

In fact, Fon thought, when he did his best to smile at Tsuna, he was feeling better by the second.

He was still slightly cold, but he felt lighter than he had felt in ... since before the curse.

The pressure was always there, compressing his Flames and giving him this small body... 

A thought struck Fon out of the blue.

It had worked and Nana had sacrificed herself.

He didn’t want to look down at first.   
It made her loss too real.

Fon already missed her like a severed limb, which was just insane and ... and a fact he could not escape from.

Tsuna had been quiet beside him.  
Almost too quiet.  
Children should not be so well behaved, they were loud and free and lively.  
That was what Fon liked about them.   
When he had no way to gain his own freedom, he could look at them and be assured hat something was right in the world.

But Tsuna was quiet and solemn and Fon felt terrible.

He had stolen Tsuna’s mother, had not even put up a fight or argued, to overwhelmed with the thought of regaining himself.

The price for Fon’s new reality was high.

Looking down at his body and being glad felt like betrayal.

Tsuna looked at something Fon couldn’t see, nodded and stood up.

“We should go. Mama is not coming with us.” His words sounded numb and Tsuna looked dead.

Fon had felt better about assassinations.

Tsuna turned around at the door and tried to smile. It was the saddest thing Fon had ever seen.

“Let’s go home.”

Fon followed, because he had promised, but mostly because Tsuna needed him now.

He didn’t even stumble once, though it had been a long time since his legs had been this long.

When he gently picked Tsuna up, the boy curled into his chest and sobbed.

On their way back, Fon realised he didn’t even know how old Tsuna was, what he liked to eat or if and where he went to school.

Well, he had the rest of his life to figure out how to take care of Tsuna.

Fon would do anything to make Nana proud.


End file.
